Uprooted Palestinians are at the heart of the conflict in the M.E Palestinians uprooted by force of arms. Yet faced immense difficulties have survived, kept alive their history and culture, passed keys of family homes in occupied Palestine from one generation to the next.

Saturday, 16 July 2011

According to recent reports from Washington, the Obama administration is proposing a trade-off to reach a breakthrough in the stalled Palestinian-Israeli talks.

The new formula, which the U.S. tried (but failed) to sell to other members of the Quartet, proposes a Palestinian recognition of the "Jewishness" of Israel in exchange for an American endorsement of a Palestinian "state" on unspecific parts of the West Bank in addition to a few scattered neighborhoods of occupied East Jerusalem.

The United States has already approached some Arab states, asking them to endorse the American ideas and pressure the weak Palestinian Authority (PA) leadership to do likewise.

Unfortunately, the notoriously obsequious PA is yet to utter a clarion and unequivocal "NO" in response to increasingly daring Israeli and American efforts to force the Palestinian leadership to commit a historic adultery with Palestinian honor, legitimate rights and future, since recognizing the "Jewishness" of Israel would be a historic obscenity exceeding any other obscenity.

Some shallow-minded Palestinian officials seem unable to grasp the actual and potential gravity of the issue at hand. These people must be asked to shut up, or get lost, as they have no right whatsoever to sacrifice the rights of future Palestinian generations to freedom, dignity, and equality.

Russia has had the decency to reject the obscene American demand. This fact should at least silence and embarrass some of the defeatist elements within the PA who go by the adage "feed me today, kill me tomorrow."

In addition to that, a compromising attitude by the likes of Mahmoud Abbas and Yasser Abed Rabbo would really force our friends and allies into a very difficult position. Some of them would argue rather bitterly "we can't be more Catholic than the Pope, we can't be more Palestinian than the Palestinians themselves."

There are those whose tongues function much more swiftly than their brains do, who argue that the issue is merely symbolic and that Israel is already a Jewish state.

Well, things are not that simple and Israeli leaders such as the arch-racist prime minister Benyamin Netanyahu and his terrorist cohorts know exactly what they really have in mind when they speak of a Palestinian recognition of Israel as a Jewish state.

Netanyahu knows, but doesn't say so, that a Jewish state means institutionalized Jewish racism, sanctioned by the law of the land and recognized as legitimate and legal by no other than Israel's victims.

In other words, upon receiving a Palestinian recognition of Israel as a Jewish state, Israel would not only legally decapitate the paramount right of return for millions of Palestinian refugees, but would also adopt all sorts of draconian and manifestly fascist measures against the sizeable Palestinian community in Israel.

Such measures would range from brazen religious and cultural discrimination to brash ethnic cleansing, and Israel would do all of this perfectly legally because Israel is recognized as an exclusively Jewish state. In other words, the right of Israel to maintain itself as a predominantly Jewish overrides Israel's non-Jewish citizens' right to equality, dignity and basic human rights and civil liberties.

In fact, Israel has already embarked on measures that could be viewed as ominous harbingers for a full-fledged fascism. For example, Israel has unearthed ancient Muslim cemeteries in Jerusalem, ordered mosques to tone down the timeless call for prayers and imposed stringent restrictions on Muslim and Christian access to religious shrines in East Jerusalem.

Moreover, with the Israeli justice system slowly but definitely transformed into a legal body of Talmud-based anti-Gentile system that is reminiscent of history's darkest ages, and with the Israeli Jewish society moving decidedly toward Jewish religious fanaticism and national jingoism, one can only imagine the kind of treatment non-Jews, especially Palestinians, would receive in Israel several years from now.

A few months ago, I spoke with a liberal Jewish intellectual who told me that Israel wouldn’t necessarily take dramatic measures to drive Arabs away from Israel.

"Israel would make their daily life unbearable through the promulgation of clearly discriminatory laws and other ostensibly "legal" measures." In a sort of defensive reflex, I reminded him that Israel claimed to be a democratic state. "You know this is for propaganda and for international public opinion consumption, it is not for real."

Israel has already started introducing racist laws in an effort to enforce "the Jewish identity" of the state, just as Nazi Germany started enforcing the German identity in the early and mid 1930s.!

For example, the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, has proposed a new law which would make it mandatory for all Israeli (Arab and Jewish) kindergartens to sing the Jewish national anthem at least once a week.

This means that the nearly two million Arabs living in Israel would be forced to glorify the symbol of their Nakba. It would be akin to the Third Reich forcing Jewish kids to sing the Nazi anthem.

In any case, forcing the children, grandchildren and great grandchildren of the tens of thousands of Palestinians, who were murdered, savaged, and violently ethnically cleansed by genocidal Zionist terrorists when Israel was created in 1948, to sing hatikva, would be a small detail once Arabs and other non-Jews were forced to pledge loyalty to Israel as a Jewish state.

Finally, recognizing Israel as it is would be a huge betrayal for the Palestinian people, their legitimate rights, aspirations, struggle, suffering and grievances. But recognizing Israel as a Jewish state would be a real crime against humanity, since saying "yes" to the Jewishness of Israel means and implies consent to Jewish racism, fascism and even Nazism. It is nothing River toSeaUprooted Palestinian

Mariam AliWikileaks cables show more cooperation between the International Tribunal and "March 14" group pillars.

It is no longer a secret, especially after evidences presented by the Secretary General of Hizbullah His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, that the politicization scandalous for the International Tribunal for the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri goes parallel to the close cooperation between the tribunal and "March 14" group.Wednesday Wikileaks cables published by "al-Akhbar" newspaper shows how the Lebanese government headed by Fouad Siniora at that time, and former Justice Minister Charles Rizk nominated the four judges who will represent Lebanon at the STL.

The documents, referred to the role of the former Ministers of Justice Charles Rizk and Ibrahim Najar in the arbitrary detention of four officers because of the fears of the results that their release will cause.

The four Officers Issue: Manipulation of Justice
In 2006, as the arrest of the four officers was still considered by some Lebanese parties a sacred matter, the diplomacy corridors and the headquarters of the international investigation committee saw it as a large legal loophole, stressing that "the arrest was not based on evidence."

However, the officers remained in prison until 2009. A US report issued by U.S. Ambassador Jeffrey Feltman said that "the President of the International Independent Investigation Commission is deeply concerned that the evidence on which the four officers were arrested may not be sufficient to justify continued detention."

"The release of the officers would have a seismic impact on the political scene in Lebanon."

(Telegram No. 06BEIRUT2034). That was in 2006, but the four officers were released only after about 3 years (2009).

International Concern of as-Sayed:
Special Coordinator of the United Nations in Lebanon, Michael Williams, disclosed to the US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs David Hale on 9 May 2009 that "he recommends that the President of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon Judge Antonio Cassese to postpone his trip to Lebanon assumed in mid-May, to avoid the sensitivities of the election season."

Williams expressed his concern about the impact of the resignation of the Registrar Robin Vincent because of his disastrous relation with Attorney General Daniel Bellemare on the progress of the tribunal's work. (Telegram No. 09BEIRUT541 Date 05/14/2009).

As for the release of the four officers, Williams said, according to the text of the message itself that "it was supposed to happen in March 2008 to reduce the negative impact on "March 14" because of the release's nearness to the election date."
Attorney General of the International Tribunal told the U.S. ambassador in Beirut, Michel Sison, January 26, 2009, that "he suspects that the Lebanese Prosecutor General Saeed Mirza wants to refer the four officers to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon in Hague."

Moreover, Bellemare expressed concern about the possibility that the former Director General of Public Security, Major General Jamil Sayyed runs for the parliamentary elections, an idea supported by the opposition leader Suleiman Franjieh and Hizbullah (No. 09BEIRUT109 Date 27 / 1 / 2009)

Removing the detention of four officers was preceded; it seems, by tension in the ranks of "March 14" forces and their backers.

Jumblatt Attacks Lebanese Judges
The leader Walid Jumblatt informed the US Assistant Secretary of State David Welch in the presence of Ambassador Sison about that tension: "he spoke about concern of the lack of required progress in the work of the International Tribunal,"

He also expressed "his fear of the campaign, Hizbullah and Syria are launching for the release of the four officers who had been arrested in 2005 for their association with Hariri's assassination." (Telegram No. 08BEIRUT548 date 22/04/2008).
Jumblatt strongly criticized the inefficiency of the Public Prosecutor Saeed Mirza describing him "as a weak man who does not deserve his position."

"The Lebanese judges are weak, and do not dare to face."
He warned that "the release of one or two officers, will affect the credibility of the tribunal," adding that "the Russians may play an ineffective role in the UN Security Council."

In response to Hamada comments that Canadian ambassador assured to him that the President of the International Commission of Inquiry, Daniel Bellemare, has an excellent background, Jumblatt said: "This is what they told us about Brammertz."

As the international pre-trial judge Daniel Fransen ordered the Lebanese judiciary to unzip the detention of four officers, the minister Najar met with Ambassador Sison (telegram No. 09BEIRUT500 Date 5/5/2009) "he was tense after the release of the generals on how the political opposition will handle this. But it is now believed that the opposition wants calm before the June 7 parliamentary elections."

The text of the telegram adds that the Najar " was interested in the actions of former Director General of General Security Jamil Sayyed, one of those released, who works with Syria two dolls former Minister and MP Michel Samaha and former MP Nasser Kandil.
He expected that close people to as-Sayyed will continue attacks on Attorney General, Judge Saed Mirza and Investigating Judge Saqr Saqr.

Najar informed Sison "that the opposition criticism will focus on the two judges Mirza, Sakr, not the judiciary itself. He stressed that Prime Minister Fouad Siniora and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who aren't in good relationship with as-Sayyed, will strengthen judges strongly. But Najar viewed that Sakr's might be obliged to step down," stressing that "this cannot happen immediately."

King Witness Smuggling?!
As for the witness, Mohammed Zuhair Siddik, whom the Lebanese judiciary based on his testimony to prison the officers after considering him the "king witness"; he was the focus of discussions between the Minister of Justice Ibrahim Najjar and the U.S. Ambassador Sison during their meeting on April 22, 2009 (Document No. 09BEIRUT463 Date 03/24/2009).

"Najar cautiously pointed out that Arab Emirates has not officially confirmed the arrest of former Syrian intelligence officer, Mohammed Zuhair Siddiq on 18 who is wanted in Lebanon for his connection with the assassination of Hariri. Najar concluded that the UAE does not deal officially with the issue until now and thus it is not ready to deal with the request of both Lebanon and Syria to hand him over. Najar confirmed that "Lebanon would not press toward Siddiq's extradition only if the court ordered it to do so."

As for the memorandum of understanding between the Lebanese government and the Prosecutor of the International Tribunal, which had been presented to the government, the former Minister of Justice said that "Bellemare assistant called him to inquire on the status of the memorandum, Najar said that "President Suleiman and Prime Minister Siniora wanted to prevent the discussion of the subject; because it has raised objections from Hizbullah's minister Mohammed Fneish who asked Najar to stop raising this issue in the media."

Francine on Another PlanetTelegram No. 09BEIRUT500 Date 5/5/2009)

Without being asked, Najar complained about the Prosecutor Bellemare, saying he acted without paying attention to the feelings of the Lebanese, and also complained about the Pre -judge Daniel Francine by saying " he is young and on another planet."

When asked about the reasons for his criticism, as Bellemare's and Francine's actions for the release of the officers were not surprising, Najar criticized the quality of the written decision of Francine, and said that Bellemare and others in the Special Tribunal for Lebanon fear Hizbullah.

Ambassador Sison commented at the end of the telegram: "We will continue to monitor reactions on the release of the officers. Saad Hariri was frustrated during the debate between him and the Ambassador on May 4, but he felt that the comments of Sayyed to the media will withhold sympathy with the four officers. Leader in the March 14 Forces, Samir Geagea, did not expect a serious political reaction. Aoun said in a statement issued on 4 May that he decided to withdraw support for the tribunal, but added that Aoun and his colleagues in the opposition do not want a security breach that may adversely affect the election."

Ambassador Sison comments: "The hatred between the head of the Amal movement, Nabih Berri, and Major General Jamil al-Sayyed took part of the debate. In spite of that the lists of candidates for the parliamentary elections are currently closed, there is talk that Hizbullah may wait until after the elections of June to make a winning candidate to resign, and then move on to (probably in Baalbek-Hermel) elect as-Sayyed.

Amal Movement MP, Yassin Jaber, pointed to this rumor in a conversation between the ambassador and him them took place on 4 May mentioning that "everyone is talking about the intention of as-Sayyed to take over the role of House Speaker Berri."

According to a telegram (No. 06BEIRUT2034 issued on 06.20.2006), as-Sayyed's lawyer Akram Azouri told officials at the U.S. Embassy in Beirut on June 16, 2006 that "as as-Sayed's lawyer, he would soon meet Prime Minister Fouad Siniora ,the leader of the Future Movement Saad Hariri, Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, and leader of the Phalange Party Amin Gemayel to make a proposal. The offer is that the General leaves the within 24 hours after his release immediately. The alleged motive for accepting this offer is that they will get rid of as-Sayyed instead of being released due to lack of evidences, and thus his pro-Syrian friends will act in hostility."

Feltman to Choose judges

Concerning the delivery of the Lebanese government for the names of judges to the International Tribunal to the United Nations, cable 07BEIRUT963 issued on June 28, 2007 shows that Justice Minister Charles Rizk, delivered a list containing the names of 12 judges that the Lebanese government intends to nominate to the United Nations, to choose four of them for the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.

He said that the twelve judges have agreed in advance on their candidacy and that the Lebanese government prefers four of them on others. Rizk named the four judges on the list handed over to the ambassador. Also, the Lebanese government will secretly inform UN Legal Counsel Nicolas Michel of their names. Among the judges, a Sunni judge, Christian, Catholic and Orthodox.

Rizk delivered to the ambassador the two names that the Lebanese government nominated as Deputy Prosecutor, without preferring one over the other to the United Nations, one is a Sunni candidate and the other is a Christian. If United Nations didn't achieve a sectarian balance between the judges, they can rectify the situation by the position of Deputy Prosecutor.. According to the telegram, it was reported that the two lists Rizk will be delivered to Prime Minister Siniora, who is outside the country and is expected to approve both when he returns, before sending them to the United Nations.

You can find below the names of the candidates: (Note: top secret. These people are threatened by murder for agreeing to fill the positions of STL judges.

Jocelyn Tabet (Maronite)
Ghassan Oweidat (Sunni)
Comment: While the Lebanese didn't rush to complete the list as Rizk promised Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs Silverberg, at the beginning of June, it is positive that the Supreme Judicial Council has submitted nominations for judges, and Rizk in turn delivered those related to the Deputy Prosecutor. Upon the return of Prime Minister Siniora from abroad, we urge that these lists to be sent to New York as soon as possible, as the field is open for us to do so. With regard to judges, it seems that the choice of Ralph Riachi and Shukri Sader is guarnteed by the United Nations.

According to all reports we received, each of them built a strong relationship with the legal advisers of the United Nations, Nicolas Michel, during the negotiations on the Statute of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. We do not know the others mentioned in the list, but Rizk assured us they were of a very good reputation. As for the candidates for the post of Deputy Attorney General, each of Oweidat and Tabet has a respected reputation in the legal circles. We point out that Tabet is personally close to the Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Elias Murr, (of course, he is one of the victims of assassination attempts who survived a car bombing in the July 12, 2005.)

Supplement Comment: As noted above, it is important to maintain the confidentiality of the names, to prevent the exposure of candidates for any security risk. We hope that Riachi and Sader continue their discreet as the nominations come in the framework of "common assumptions". On the miserable security situation in Lebanon, Riachi told us time ago that as a celibate and without any children or relatives in Lebanon, he is easily dispensed unlike most judges who are committed to their families.
Riachi concludes to say that "he is an easy target to the risks associated with the tribunal."
FeltmanSource: "al-Akhbar" newspaper

According to the report, Morocco's Jewish Federation, too, spared no money on a glitz welcome of its own, pampering Livni with a gem and diamond jewelry set, including a necklace and two golden rings.

Livni quickly deposited the gift in the Knesset storage vault, as per the law regarding gifts to Knesset members, Israeli daily Ma’ariv said, as it reported how Israeli officials unveiled for the first time some 2,000 items of gifts from world leaders and plain folks to the Israeli Knesset.

The report said that over its more than six decades, world leaders and plain folks alike have showered Israeli parliament Knesset with hundreds of thousands of dollars in jewelry, paintings, books and other state gifts. Yet, it acknowledged that Morocco's royal family was among the most generous.
Parliament's treasure trove also contains some more bizarre items, among them a leather whip from the Stalingrad Municipal Councils and a pink Geisha dress adorned with jasmine flowers received by a delegation of parliament's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee during a visit to the Far East.
Israeli legislators and senior officials were also recipients of dozens of Asian vases, decorative porcelain plates, goblets, silver and gold coins, ties, pens, cufflinks, art and, last but not least, a bottle of rare 200-year-old whiskey.

The European Union appear concerned about the new Israeli herem law. The law suggests that a person or an organisation calling for the boycott of Israel , including the settlements, can be sued by the boycotts' targets, without having to prove that they sustained any damage.

“We are concerned about the effect that this legislation may have on the freedom of Israeli citizens and organisations to express non-violent political opinions" said spokesperson for foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton.

More and more people and institutions now understand that Israel is not a ‘civilised society’: it is impervious to notions of human and civil rights, and it also does not share the common and fundamental foundations of a Western value system. Israel is not a democracy and it has never been one. At the most, Israel has managed to mimic some of the appearances of a Western civilisation, but it has clearly failed to internalise the meaning of tolerance and freedom.

This should not take us by surprise: Israel defines itself as a Jewish state, and Jewishness is, sadly enough, inherently intolerant; indeed, it may be argued that Jewish intolerance is as old as the Jews themselves.

Regarding legislation then, how are we to understand the implications of the word ‘herem’? The Hebrew word herem in its contemporary usage refers to a ban, boycott and sanction. However, within the biblical context, the word suggests the total destruction of the enemy and his goods at the conclusion of a campaign.

The emergence of Christianity then, can be viewed as an attempt to rectify such a situation of stark intolerance -- it can be understood as an attempt to drift away from The Old Testament’s dark ideology. Christianity introduced ideas of harmony and love. And it is no wonder that the man who dared suggest to his Judean contemporaries to ‘love their neighbours’ ended up nailed to wood. He himself ended up being subject to a vile homicidal herem campaign.

Uriel Da Costa

The spirit of herem is intrinsic to the Judaic teaching and spirit. Many people are aware of Spinoza being subject to a Rabbinical herem. Yet, not many are familiar with the story of Uriel Da Costa.

Da Costa was born a Catholic in 1585 in Porto, Portugal. From an early stage, Da Costa was aware that his family had Jewish origins, and in the course of his studies, he began to consider a return to Judaism. By 1617, Da Costa and his family had decided to return to Judaism, and they fled Portugal for Amsterdam, which was soon to become a thriving centre of the Sephardic Diaspora.

Once in the Netherlands though, Da Costa very quickly became disenchanted with Rabbinical Judaism. He came to believe that the Rabbinic leadership was consumed by rituals and (Talmudic) legalism. In 1624 Da Costa published a book entitled “An Examination of the Traditions of the Pharisees”, which questioned the fundamental belief in the immortality of the soul. The work also pointed out the discrepancies between biblical Judaism and Rabbinical Judaism.

The book was considered controversial and publicly burned. Da Costa was called before the Rabbinic leadership of Amsterdam for uttering blasphemous views against Judaism and Christianity, was fined a significant sum, and subject to herem.

In 1633 Costa sought reconciliation with the community. He vowed to go back to being “an ape amongst the apes.” However, soon enough, he began to express rationalistic and skeptical views again, for instance, expressing doubts whether biblical law was divinely sanctioned, or whether it was simply written down by Moses. He came to the conclusion that all religions were human inventions, ultimately rejecting formalised, ritualised religion. Possibly the first atheist Jew, Da Costa came to believe that religion should be based only on natural law, believing that God resides in nature, which is full of peace and harmony, whereas organised religion is marked by violence and strife.

It did not take long before Da Costa became, once again, subject to Rabbinical herem. For seven years he lived in virtual isolation, shunned by his family and loved ones. Ultimately, the loneliness was too much for him to bear, and he recanted once more.

As a punishment for his heretical views, he was publicly given thirty nine lashes at the Portuguese synagogue in Amsterdam, then forced to lie on the floor while the congregation trampled over him. The events left Da Costa traumatised, and he became suicidal. After writing his autobiography, “Exemplar Humanae Vitae” (1640), in which he disclosed his experience as a victim of Jewish intolerance, he set out to end the lives of both his cousin and himself. Seeing his relative approach one day, he grabbed a pistol and pulled the trigger, but it misfired. Then he reached for another, turned it on himself and fired, reportedly dying a terrible death.

Zionists and ‘Anti Zionists’ Alike

The record of vile Rabbinical measures against dissidence is staggering. But unfortunately, Jewish intolerance exceeds far beyond religious institutions. In Israel, it seems that Jews impose herems on each other on a daily basis. The so called ‘Israeli left’ imposes herem on the West Bank settlements (as if Tel Aviv is not a settlement), and in response, the right wing government herems the left heremiates .

And as we all know, prominent Jewish critical voices outside of Israel too such as Norman Finkelstein, have been subject to relentless Zionist herems over the years.

However, one may find it astonishing that Jewish ‘anti Zionists’ who claim to be ‘progressive’, godless ‘atheists’ and ‘cosmopolitans,’ also consistently use the exact same Talmudic herem tactics that have been employed by their Rabbinical ancestors for hundred of years.

In the last decade we have come across more than a few Jewish ‘anti Zionist’ herem campaigns. Jewish ‘anti- Zionists’ single mindedly dedicated themselves to the destruction of Deir Yassin Remembered (DYR),which was at the time the biggest and most successful pro-Palestinian organisation in the UK. Monitoring the contemptible language used by Jewish ‘anti Zionist’ campaigners and observing the strategies they implement against fellow anti- Zionist Jews and Palestinian solidarity activists reveals a very grim picture and a repetition of the most horrendous Rabbinical herem tactics.

But such a realisation and understanding of these Jewish ‘anti Zionist’ tactics should not really take us by surprise, after all, just like the Jewish State, the Jewish ‘anti Zionists’ also identify as Jews.
However,unlike Rabbinical Jews -- who at least provide some reasoning for their severe judgements based on supposed transgression of Biblical tenets -- the Jewish ‘anti Zionist’ concentrate solely on measures of punishment. Yet such a fact is hardly surprising : whilst hardly any of the so called ‘progressive’ Jewish ‘anti Zionists’ believe in God or follow the Torah -- they have clearly managed to draw from Judaism its very worst methods i.e. brute and crude intolerance.

I too am obviously subject to on going and constant herem campaigns, conducted by various ethnic Jewish activists, both Zionist and crypto-Zionists.

However, I am delighted to report that my detractors are not at all successful. In fact, they are by now growing accustomed to learn that their hopeless herem attempts to excommunicate me simply backfire, time after time, leaving them frustrated and more and more isolated from the public discourse regarding the Israel/Palestine conflict.

On reflection, I would conjecture that the growing circulation of my work has little to do with my talent or wisdom though. It is much more simple than that: rather, my perspective on humanism and ethics is probably more straightforward, coherent, inclusive and consistent than the Jewish ‘anti Zionists’ pseudo progressive ethno-centric exclusivism, so clearly manifested in each of their herem campaigns and implicit in much of their writing.

Jews and the BDS

As one would expect, world Jewry welcome the new Israeli herem law. According to Ha’aretz, the umbrella organisation of French-Jewish groups in France (CRIF) hailed the new Israeli herem law : “the CRIF’s director general Haim Musicant pointed out that a similar such law has long existed in France, much to the satisfaction of the French Jewish community.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also defended the new law, saying "what stains (Israel's) image are those savage and irresponsible attacks on a democracy's attempt to draw a line between what is acceptable and what is not."

Netanyahu sums it up eloquently -- the new Talmudic law is there to highlight and establish the terms regarding what is acceptable within ‘Kosher democracy’: it is a non-civilised setting driven by blatantly exclusivist policies. In a very similar manner, the Jewish so called ‘anti Zionists’ often enough claim to know what ‘Kosher anti Zionism’ is all about, and how its boundaries should be defined. Incredibly enough, the Jewish ‘anti Zionists’ also repeatedly preach to us about ‘who is good’ and ‘who is bad’ for the Palestinians.

I presume that by now, the continuum between Netanyahu’s attitudes and those of the crypto-Zionists within our midst is pretty well established, and clear enough for all of us to see.

In April, the renowned journalist and film maker Max Blumenthal addressed some questions regarding the Jewish hegemony within the BDS movement. The BDS is a call initiated by Omar Barghouti and Palestinian civil society to impose boycott, divestment and sanctions on Israel.

Blumenthal wrote, “last night I went to Columbia University to see Omar Barghouti discuss his new book, Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions: The Global Struggle for Palestinian Rights… During his talk, Barghouti mentioned that he had approached J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami about arranging a debate on BDS. The response from Ben-Ami was as follows, according to Barghouti: ‘We want to keep this debate inside the Jewish community. So we won’t participate in a debate with any Palestinians.’”
“Last December”, Blumenthal continues, “I debated the issue of BDS against the director of J Street U, Daniel May. My debate partner was Rebecca Vilkomerson of Jewish Voice for Peace. Daniel May’s partner was a Jewish student from Princeton also named Daniel May. Everyone involved in the debate was an Ashkenazi Jew, yet we were debating a movement founded and controlled by Palestinian civil society.”

If you should ask yourself why J Street insists on running the BDS as a ‘Jewish internal affair,’ or why the BDS has become a ‘Jewish call’, here is the answer – the BDS is interpreted by most Jews as a call for a herem, and this is what Jews do best : destroying, excluding, excommunicating, silencing, boycotting, sanctioning. After all, Jews have been doing this for centuries.

But here arises another problem regarding Jewish over representation and control within the boycott movement. As much as many of us sympathise with the Palestinian civil society call, hardly any of us actually want to operate within, or take direction on what we should do and think from a Jewish ‘anti Zionist’ Trotsky-ite synagogue. And as it happens -- and this makes me very sad at times -- some of the crypto Zionists who operate within the BDS movement are now using this important Palestinian call in order to promote Jewish interests, or to fight other Palestinian solidarity activists.
But I believe that for the BDS to be successful, this movement must be attentive first and foremost to the Palestinian call, and to that call above all others. For the BDS to be effective it must transcend itself beyond the banal herem type activity. It must be a universal call, and managed as a civil society campaign.

Herem, Post Herem and a Joke

Israel and Zionism then, has proved to be a short lived dream. It was initiated to civilise Jewish life, and to dismantle the Jewish self-destructive mode. It was there to move the Jew into the post herem phase. It vowed to make the Jew into a productive being. But as things turned out, neither the Zionists nor the ‘anti Zionists’ managed to drift away from the disastrous herem culture. It seems that the entire world of Jewish identity politics is a matrix of herems and exclusion strategies. In order to be ‘a proper Jew’, all you have to do is to point out whom you oppose, hate, exclude or boycott.

Such a state of affairs is indeed pretty tragic, but it certainly brings to mind the old Jewish joke:
Q: How many synagogues are needed in a village with just one single Jewish habitant?
A: Two synagogues; one that he goes to, and one he would never set foot in.

The U.S. embassy telegrams continue its Wikileaks series being published on "al-Akhbar" Lebanese daily. The new cables show the U.S. officials focus as well as the French and the Arabs to accuse Syria of assassinating the leader Imad Mughniyeh claiming that the martyr is involved in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

It seems from the cables published today, that most of the meetings held in more than one capital seemed like speculation and expectation parties aimed at blaming Hizbullah and Syria in Lebanon's assassinations.

All after Mughniyeh

Lebanon's former Ambassador to the United States Simon Karam and the President of the National Liberal Party Dory Chamoun considered Mughniyeh's assassination "a gift to the Americans" as mentioned in the cable itself (No. 08BEIRUT237), while Walid Jumblatt told the Americans:" Either the "Israelis" killed him, or the Syrians, and in both cases his death is a good news."

The cables explore the attitude of the Minister of Interior at that time Hassan as-Sabih who told the Ambassador Sison: "Maybe Syria wanted to send a message to Hizbullah or to the United States, or perhaps there is a splitwithin the Hizbullah itself."

However, what is more surprising in the cable's text is what MP of the Free Patriotic Movement Ghassan Moukheiber told the Americans on the assassination of Mughniyeh; "In his meeting with officials at the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, Moukheiber was surprised that the assassination of Mughniyeh came directly after he left the Syrian Intelligence Services Office.

Adding that "the killing of Mughniyeh is a major challenge to Hizbullah," Moukheiber that "the coming days will reveal the nature of the performed deal."

In the telegram issued by the U.S. Embassy in Damascus (telegram No. 08DAMASCUS142 date of February 26, 2008) the US Charge D'affaires Michael Corbin quotes sources as saying that "officials of the Syrian Military Intelligence and General Intelligence Directorate are currently throwing the blame on each other in case of the security breach that led to the killing of Mughniyeh."

Telegram No. 08AMMAN3189 issued on November 25, 2008, tells that in autumn of 2008, the Assistant U.S. Secretary of State David Hale made a tour to Jordanian officials that included in addition to King Abdullah Royal Court Chief Nasser Lozi, Foreign Minister Salah Bashir and House Speaker Zeid Rifai and others.

The meetings focused on U.S. assistance to Jordan, but one of the records of the U.S. Embassy in Amman referred to remarkable words of Rifai "Abdel Halim Khaddam told Rifai that the only thing that Bashar inherited from his father is that he accepted that political assassination is the appropriate way to get rid of opponents."

U.S. Ambassador to Jordan Stephen Bercrawft referred to Rifai as saying " I speculate that the Syrian regime targeted the head of Hizbullah Imad Mughniyeh and Assistant Security Presidential Syrian Brigadier General Mohammed Suleiman as part of efforts to get rid of anyone who is linked to the killing of former President Rafiq Hariri. If the tribunal is held, there will be no one to testify."

Jumblatt also revealed to US Charge D'affaires in Beirut, William Grant that "French President Nicolas Sarkozy sent his Special Envoy Claude Gayan to meet King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia whom Jumblatt described as the only serious assistant Arab leader to "March 14" in the Arab world."
Gayan told Abdullah that "the Syrians were not involved in Drakar's blowing in Beirut in 1983 that led to the killing of 56 French on the same day of blowing up the Marine base.

According to Jumblatt what Gayan intended from his words is that the Iranians are the ones who were behind the attack.
"As Imad Mughniyeh is Iranian agent, the issue has become closed. This indicates that the Iranians were involved in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and others," Jumblatt said warning that "this would blow the tribunal."

Khoja's Rumors
The Saudi position from the assassination of the martyr Leader Hajj Imad Mughniyeh had been expressed by the Saudi ambassador in Beirut, Abdel-Aziz Khoja, through his meeting with the US Ambassador Michele J. Sison at his home on February 15, 2008 (telegram No. 08BEIRUT271 date of February 19, 2008).
Khoja talked about rumors reporting that the "U.S. held a deal with Syria and that led to the assassination of Hizbullah's Leader Imad Mughniyeh."

Khoja claimed that the "Secretary General of Hizbullah His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, had participated in a meeting with Mughniyeh and officials from the intelligence of both Syria and Iran on February 12 i.e. two days before the assassination of Mughniyeh."

In another matter, but in the same cable, the Saudi ambassador claimed that "Syria is planning to allow the election of Michel Suleiman before the Arab summit in Damascus and then to kill him before he could form a government which will cause to create gaps and spaces in the Lebanese institutions."

Khoja told Sison that "Hizbullah doubts that Syria was behind the assassination of its Leader Imad Mughniyeh, the night before February 12."
He pointed to the "absence of any Syrian official in the funeral of Mughniyeh in Beirut on the 14th of February," claiming that " the Iranian foreign minister, who attended the funeral, came to calm Hizbullah and to prevent it from taking steps toward Syria."

In another paragraph from the cable, Khoja said that "many people in Saudi Arabia raised questions about the reasons behind the assassination of Mughniyeh, and the potential deal between Syria and the United States or "Israel"."

"A rumor that is seriously spread in Beirut states that the United States held a deal with Syria that the latter withdraws from the tribunal Private for allowing the United States to get Mughniyeh," Khoja claimed pointing to another rumor that Syria and "Israel" held their deal that allowed the assassination of Mughniyeh, the "Israeli" target."

Feltman: Murr Involved in City Bank Corruption
Leaks related to the former minister, Elias Murr; do not stop as indicated
by the telegram No. 05BEIRUT3155 on 28 September 2005 classified by the former U.S. ambassador Jeffrey Feltman.

The cable mentions that during a television interview with the Minister of Communications Marwan Hamadeh on "LBC", Murr called from Zurich to confirm what Hamada said on TV that "Murr knows the identity of the man responsible for his bombing on July12."

Murr spoke about the development of problems between him and the representative of the Syrian intelligence in Lebanon Rustom Ghazaleh, following a campaign of arrests launched in September 2004 against suspects who tried to plant a bomb at the Italian Embassy in Beirut. (Note by Feltman: Despite the fact that Murr didn't name Ghazaleh directly, but it seemed very clear from the content of the speech that Ghazaleh is the aim of Murr's statement.)

According to Murr, Ghazali called the Police Chief Saeid Eid nd ordered him to call and verbally reprimand Murr.
In reaction to the phone call, Murr called Ghazaleh directly and objected to the appointment of Eid for his criticism. Murr adds that Eid who heard the conversation with Ghazaleh in coincidence, told him: "You have to pack up and go home."

After this call, Murr said, that he has received threats to kill him and left Lebanon for security reasons. According to Murr, "the attempted assassination of May Chidiac was the main event behind this public declaration. Murr concluded his intervention in the program by saying: "Now we are all equal."

When Feltman called Murr the next day, the latter expressed his great satisfaction; as if an enormous burden has been removed from his shoulder.
He joked that he might live forever in Zurich, because he angered the Syrians on the one hand and on the other hand because of his diet.
Feltman says in this telegram, Murr's statement on Syria, is expected since the man has confidentially repeated that Syria is threatening and you pressing him.

Feltman adds that "Murr chose the appropriate time. Talking through a live well-known, program to a channel that is directly linked to, in an interview with Marwan Hamadeh, gave further impetus to his statement."
The question of the Syrian threat to Hariri before his death, is part of the faith here. This belief is reinforced by Murr's story on a pro-Syria that ended up as an opponent to Damascus.

Lahoud's traditional statement demonstrated the dramatic isolation of President from his people and reality. And with all the opposition voices around him, Lahoud is still able to be the worst enemy for himself."
Feltman continues, "The timing of Murr's statement was probably in his advantage. In the investigation of the Chairman of the International Commission of Inquiry, Murr's name rose to the surface as a potential target for the lifting of bank secrecy."

"While it doesn't seem that Murr has any link to the assassination of Hariri, which occurred during Murr's stay in Zurich because of death threats in September 2004, it is rumored that he is involved in financial corruption along with the four Lebanese detainee's officers," Feltman clarified.

"If the Lebanese government decided to investigate the issue of corruption associated with the collapse of the City Bank which has a bad reputation, Murr's involvement in some mysterious estate deals would be uncovered. Murr might think that the sympathy he earned for being a victim of Syria's attack, help to rescue his reputation in the event of disclosure of City Bank secrets," Feltman concluded.

Source: "Israel Defense Website"
"In case of another war, when the Interior Frontier is bombarded with missiles, the casualties are going to be greater than the casualties brought about by the Second Lebanon War (the July War), which took place approximately five years ago. Definitely the casualties are going to be way graver than "Operation Cast Lead" (the Gaza War) in Gaza Strip, which was performed nearly two years and a half ago."A commander-in-chief of the Interior Frontier Command tells "Israel Defense Website", "When they launched rockets with 122-mm diameter in the previous wars, the damage was relatively little; we weren't asked to demolish the damaged houses and reconstruct them. However, the situation is going to be different during the next war."

Furthermore, "Lattar Duke", a high-ranking officer, points out that the explosive substance in thousands of rockets launched during the 33 days of the Second Lebanon War in the summer of 2006 was estimated to reach 90 tons. (The explosive substance in the warhead of every Katyusha rocket - the main weapons used by Hizbullah then - weighed 7 kilograms only.) Whereas in "Operation Cast Lead", the explosive substance of all the rockets launched by Hamas reached 3.7 tons only; this equals the explosive substance of a few air-force bombs."

Also, the "Israeli" Military says, "Extreme danger threatens important domains currently, whether it's about the quantity of the missiles and the size of their warheads or about their range and accuracy. During the next war, we're going to see massive ammunition, guided through GPS (GPS is a navigation device tht receives Global Positioning System signals for the purpose of determining the device's current position on earth), launched against the Interior "Israeli" Frontier. Today, it is true that the accuracy of Hizbullah and Syria enables them to launch missiles at a distance of 500 meters approximately from the target, and they have a lot of missile warheads, the ammunition of each weighs hundreds of kilograms. They have, too, the M-600 missiles, which are made in Syria; Fateh-110 missiles (an Iranian parallel of the Syrian rocket); or Scud-D (ballistic) missiles, each having a range that surpasses 700 kilometers and a warhead of 485 kilograms at least."

The high-ranking officer adds, "In spite of this, I estimate to what extent "the State of Israel" can remain steadfast if the Northern Frontier declares war on Syria and Hizbullah. Upon a dangerous probability, I presume the extent will be 1000 to 2000 tons. Now let's view things relatively. During World war ∏, one German city, Dresden, was bombarded with 8000 tons of explosive substances."
"During the first nine weeks of the airstrike against London, the average of the explosive substances the Germans dropped every night was 206 tons, not to count the great amounts of the incendiary bombs; yet, England did not fall. Basically, the threat facing "Israel" has become way more serious; however, a quantity of 1000 to 2000 tons does not demolish a "State"."

"We're a strong people, and we know how to face those challenges; they're not the first ones the human history has witnessed, and every existing situation has been paralleled by another earlier. I am convinced that our effective defensive ability, in addition to our ineffective ability that is improving, shall enable us to know how to overcome the attack against the Interior Frontier. It is most crucial - that we revive quickly."

The security establishment presumes that the scenario of any future war will subject "Israel's" Interior Frontier, including the residential gathering in the middle of the "country", the military bases, and the national infrastructural constructions, to an unparalleled attack. That's why the Command launched a media campaign in May, seeking to get the people ready for what is going to happen - particularly on the cognitive level.
In addition to getting ready to perceive the coup, extra steps have been made so as to get ready for the expected attack. Well, one of the basic steps is to improve the alarm process against missiles.

Alarm
"Concerning the alarm domain, great developments have occurred since the Second Lebanon War; for instance, we've multiplied the alarms from 1500 to 3000. However, it won't be enough to say we have done so, whereby the competency level of the alarms increased from 76% to 96%. This year, it even reached 98%. The system is ready, and it can be activated 365 days a year, 24 hours a day. This is in comparison with the previous situation when the alarm system would be revived only in periods of emergencies."

"In addition to the alarms, we are developing other means of alarm against any missiles targeting the interior part of "Israel"." For instance, the execution of "the Miser Ishii System" (Literally "the Personal Message") has started this year. This system identifies and perceives all discovery signals (through a radar), activates these signals, re-estimates the predicted target, and delivers a personal alarm to the residents of this place through cellular phones, television adapters, sensors (beepers), or internet. During the first stage, the system will alarm the people through their cellular phones if necessary. This means that the system is going to identify how to monitor the cellular phones in the areas where missiles may be dropped. The alarm will reach the phones of the targeted area only. It is impossible to ignore the alarm; even when someone on his or her car is listening to loud music or is in a crowded and closed office, the phone vibrates and produces a special ring signifying the launching of missiles. In order to receive the alarm, the cellular-phone companies must reduce their use of smart devices."

- Aren't there enough shelters for all "Israeli" residents?
"Yes," says the high-ranking officer, "75% of the people have fortified places or a shelter in their common houses, but so far, there haven't been enough solutions for the other 25% that don't have fortified infrastructure."

- What about the budget for the protective masks against the non-traditional weapons that the residents will receive?"Also, there's a problem as respects the budget. The current reserve of the masks will cover the needs of only 60% of the residents. According to the plan involving distributing safe masks to homes, 27% of the citizens currently own protective masks; however, in a year, the distribution process will be over, and this means that nearly 40% of the residents won't receive masks. In our "country", there exist two factories that manufacture protective masks (against non-traditional weapons); still, even if both of them work perfectly, they're going to need two years to fill the gap. Such situation imposes a real difficulty on us, for in time of need, different presumptions must be offered to the residents regarding how to behave in case any missile attack occurs - the residents with the protective masks as well as those without masks must be offered these presumptions."

__________________________________________________

Third Lebanon War: A Catastrophe for "Israel"Source: "Haaretz Newpaper"
By Ari Shavit

The failure of the Second Lebanon War (the July War) was the failure of the post-war period. The 2006 War was run badly, and its outcomes were very dangerous. Nevertheless, the five years following the War have been more dangerous than the 33-day War itself. "Israel" is still behaving tyrannically despite hearing the alarm bells and seeing the warning lanterns flashing, whereby "Israel" has refused to reflect on the deep meanings of war rather than confronting the failure of the systems and values, which was exposed by the War.

Neither has "Israel" derived conclusions or lessons, nor has it changed its administrative form. The War that broke on the 12th of July, 2006 did not wake "Israel" up from its hibernation. The Second War exposed the Command's failure, whereby the war "captains" committed mistakes that the mind could not perceive, and those mistakes weren't merely personal; they did not result only from the personal weakness of Ehud Olmert,Amir Peretz, and Dan Halutz; the mistakes actually resulted from the "Israeli" Command's problem, kind, values, conduct, in addition to the planning, command, and administration institutions that serve the "Israeli" command.

The problem with the Command hasn't been solved ever since the War. Olmert, Peretz, and Halutz are no longer there, but the illness is still there. A bitter personal quarrel concerning the personal responsibility of the chiefs of the failing War has prevented the radical treatment of the problem of the General Command. There have been changes here and there; some have been positive in contrast with the negative ones. Yet, both of the political and media systems - including the author of these lines - bear responsibility for the fact that the personal occupation has overcome the official occupation.

The day following the War was a day of quarrel rather than of evaluation. The question of who is leading us and how and where we're being led is still an open question without an answer.
The Second Lebanon War has exposed a severe military failure; the "Israeli" Military behaved like an unfocused, unserious, and unwise military; instead, it behaved as a military spoiled by a corrupt inner policy. Immediately after the War, two important processes were carried out: Brigadier General Gal Hersh was discharged, and Lieutenant General Gabi Ashkenazi was assigned instead. And the message was simple and clear, stating that the post-war Military would be clingy to recruitment and fighting, but it would be far from brilliance, genuiness, and straightforwardness. And so the case has been.

After "the Yom Kippur War" (Literally "the Minor Day of Atonement"), Mordechai Gur built a big, mysteriously spirited military; likewise, after the Lebanon War, Gabi Ashkenazi built a fighting military that overwhelms spirits, whereby the emergency depots are full, and the soldiers are training, but there isn't enough brilliance, creation, or a sense of values that bears no leniency. There is no Gal Hersh; nor is there what Hersh represents. Hereupon, the question concerning the Military has remained open, and the improvements made to the Military do not meet the challenges facing "Israel".

The Second Lebanon War has exposed the failure of the "State". But the difficult feeling the War has left is that no "State" exists. There is none who can manage the affairs of the ghost cities in the north. Nor is there anyone who can handle the affairs of the run-away people from the north. And there is no solidarity that joins the North to the South and the Center. Having altered itself into the "Israeli" economy, "the State of Israel" has remained without a public sector that deserves this name. It has remained without an official and responsible system and without any adherence to the feeling of common destiny.

Suddenly it became apparent that the general political-consumptive spirit we've developed does not meet the historical reality that we live, for our glorious economy isn't going to protect us on the day of resolution; neither is it going to make us one community or one "state". It empowers us in a way, but it makes us weak and vulnerable to harm in other ways.
Throughout the five years that have passed since the War broke, this severe contradiction hasn't been settled; it has even become more severe. The economy is prosperous, but the community suffers a difficult situation. The raw national produce is increasing, but the government is not performing its work. We've made ourselves forget about the shock of the summer of 2006, enjoying our life again as if we were in southern California.

Hereupon, we'll be stunned again on the coming day of resolution; then, we're going to ask about what will have happened to us. So why have we celebrated for five years on board of the "Titanic" instead of strengthening it and getting it prepared to divert it from the path of its ?

For 3 days Zionist warplanes had been pounding all of Lebanon’s land, for the lame excuses that the Lebanese Resistance of Hezbollah was successful in abducting two Israeli soldiers. Hezbollah had warned everyone for many months and at several occasions that it is in the process of planning to capture Israeli soldiers in order to exchange them with Lebanese prisoners.
However, the problem is that the well planned “adventure” did not go as smoothly and as expected, and it resulted in the destruction of two Israeli tanks and many Israeli deaths.
Apparently, Ehud Olmert was not – at that stage - in the mood of negotiating with Hezbollah for the mutual release of prisoners as former PM Sharon had done the year before.ZIONIST BRUTALITY
Israel has the total backing of George W Bush to punish Lebanon with extreme vengeance for failing to promptly satisfying his strategic plans in the Greater Middle East.
On the third day of July war, the Zionist beast became more brutal, spreading its poisonous hatred over the whole Lebanese territories; starting from southern suburb of Beirut (Dahye), where warplanes bombed the security square of Haret Hreik, hitting al-Noor Radio headquarter, demolishing buildings, killing civilians and targeting every single sign that might point out to any presence of the Resistance.Beirut international airport had its share as well. Flames rose from its buildings and runways. Flights were transferred to Amman airport.
Moving to the south of Lebanon, the view was not that different. Bridges of Owali, Damour, Ein-Arab and February 6th were completely destructed. Zionist air force raided over most of the Lebanon’s southern cities and villages, targeting civilians and infrastructures.
Enemy warplanes bombed northern Lebanon, throwing projectiles and heat balloons over the regions of Mdairej, Dahr-el-Baidar, , Akkar, al-Assi bridge in the city of Hermel, Hemmana Heights, Kfar Zabad, Qaa-Homs international highway, Damascus-Beirut international highway and many other vital points.

Zionist leaflets during July war 2006.

Zionist aircrafts threw leaflets over Lebanon’s land threatening to doom and gloom, along with Israeli foreign minister threatening – from the Occupied Territories - to assassinate Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.
Lebanese Ministry of Health declared the death of 65 citizens along with 195 injured during that day. Electricity stations in north and south were hit. At the end of the day, Leban’on’ suddenly turned to be Leban’off’.
Yet, Israeli entity was hit by Hezbollah in retaliation for the Israeli attacks on Lebanon. Israel’s guns and jet fighter planes mercilessly kill innocent Lebanese civilians by the dozens and destroy scarce Lebanese infrastructure, and,in return, its residents get a taste of the pains of war...BATTLEFIELD

"We are going to the Open War .."

For its part, Hezbollah threw its long-range missiles over Miron military site northern Occupied Palestine, killing two soldiers. Other rockets were thrown over the regions of Safad, Kliot, Karmil, Hatsour, Kiryat Shmoneh and on artillery batteries in Zaoura in the Golan Heights.
An Israeli military source announced that 100 rockets were thrown from Lebanon over the southern Occupied Territories. 44 Zionists were taken into hospital.Radio of Israel admitted the “violent response of Hezbollah” over the northern settlements. Israeli channel fears of Hezbollah targeting facilities containing dangerous substances in Haifa and the neighboring cities.
Olmert ordered his troops to continue attacking Lebanon, where Zionist authorities called upon residents of Haifa to go down to shelters.
On the same day, Hezbollah’s second surprise was put in action. Mujahedeen pounded the city of Naharaya along with a secret military headquarter near Haifa by their long-range missiles.
Moreover, Resistance barrage of rockets targeted the convoy of Zionist interior minister in the town of Safad. Hezbollah vows more surprises.AL-SAYYED PROMISES VICTORY
On Saturday’s night, July 15, 2006, Sayyed Nasrallah declared in a phone call broadcast on Al-Manar Channel that the battle was no longer a battle for exchanging prisoners, but a battle of accountability against the Lebanese state, people, regions, army and Resistance in retaliation for 25 May 2000.
“Our rockets will reach Haifa, beyond Haifa, and far beyond Haifa. Not only our homes will be destructed. Not only our people will be displaced. We are going to the open war. Look now at this moment to the Lebanese sea, where the Israeli warship which attacked our people … is blown, and will sink with dozens of Zionist soldiers,” his eminence said.
For the first time since the beginning of the war on Lebanon, Sayyed Nasrallah promised victory “by God’s Will.”
Zionist authorities admitted the assault on Saer warship, where 4 soldiers at least declared lost.And tomorrow is another day…

GAZA, (PIC)-- Gaza Prime Minister Ismail Haneyya said he does not believe the world would hand the Palestinians a state “on a silver plate” at a time when many nations have been conspiring with Israel, while the United Nations has recently retracted its positions and covered up Israel's crimes.

Prime Minister Haneyya told Palestine's Safa news agency that nothing practical would spur from steps in September, when Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas plans on unilaterally going to the UN to seek statehood. Haneyya said that the Palestinians' problem has nothing to do with UN resolutions.

“Today a resolution and tomorrow a state? I don't think so,” Haneyya exclaimed, clarifying that the UN and Security Council have already resolved on giving the Palestinians the right to establish a state, but such decisions have not been applied on the ground.

In the interview, Haneyya proposed drafting a Palestinian strategy based primarily on enhancing Palestinian unity and steadfastness and holding fast to national rights and eliciting a state from the Israeli occupier.

Haneyya also spoke about developments in the Palestinian reconciliation. He asserted that what is required is that the unity deal is implemented practically as had been agreed upon.

“Adhering to a specific person for the prime ministry is outside of the national agreement, and it's one of the main obstacles in implementing the deal,” Haneyya said, referring to Abbas's unwavering nomination of Salam Fayyad as prime minister of the transition government.

The Palestinian premier also addressed UNESCO's declaring Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
“This is unacceptable and condemnable. We have contacted UNESCO, and they said their position is as it is and would not change. We will examine that in the days to come,” Haneyya said.

He added that Jerusalem would remain Arab and Islamic, reiterating that he contacted high-profile officials in the UN who assured that their position regarding Jerusalem has not changed and that what was disseminated in the media was inaccurate.

Yossi Verter, Haaretz, Jul 15 2011
On Monday, after the Boycott Law passed by a vote of 47-38, Likud MKs flocked around MK Zeev Elkin, chairman of the Likud faction and the coalition, a resident of the Etzion Bloc in the West Bank, and the law’s sponsor. His seat in the next Knesset is guaranteed. MKs Danny Danon, Tzipi Hotovely, Zion Pinyan and Yariv Levin were there; Ofir Akunis embraced Elkin. If this had been the Teddy Stadium, they would have hoisted Elkin onto their shoulders and carried him in a victory procession. Elkin said modestly the next day:

I wasn’t out for all the media, all the noise. I’m also not sure about my seat in the next Knesset. Who’ll remember this in another two years?

But Elkin knows his voters in the settlements never forget. He added later:

At first, this law was of no interest to anyone. In the preliminary reading everyone supported it, and there were no problems in first reading. Only last week did the media campaign start. In fact, the work was done for me by Peace Now and the left-wing organizations. Then Kadima also got on the bandwagon. Tzipi Livni did not take part in the previous votes; it was only on Monday, when she saw what was going on, that she remembered she was against it.

Elkin is right. He worked on the legislation for a few months, scurrying between the relevant ministries, taking part in discussions of the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee. The only one from Kadima who tried to shoot down the bill there was MK Yohanan Plesner. In private conversations, Elkin sounds a lot less ideological and extreme than he comes off elsewhere. Someone asked if he thinks the law will cause Israel international damage. He said with satisfaction:

In the long run, I think not. But the campaign against the law is causing us a certain amount of damage.

There are some who attribute Elkin’s aggressive behavior to his Russian origins; in some Knesset circles, he’s known as “the Bolshevik.” His Hebrew is good, but he has a strong accent. Ten years ago, he was a member of Natan Sharansky’s Yisrael B’Aliyah party. In 2005, he spearheaded Likud’s Russian-language campaign against the withdrawal from Gaza. Afterward, still a political unknown, he got an offer from Kadima leader Ariel Sharon to defect to that party and enter the Knesset easily, as part of a slate of candidates drawn up by the party’s founder, who was in need of a settler who was also Russian. Elkin put ideology aside momentarily, and entered the Knesset on the Kadima list under Ehud Olmert. On the eve of the last elections he returned to Likud and was chosen in the party primary to run as a representative of the new immigrants’ constituency. MK Ahmed Tibi ‏(United Arab List-Ta’al‏) asked Elkin if his passion for enacting legislation of this kind had to do with his being beaten up as a kid. The immigrants, veterans and newcomers alike, sometimes carry unpleasant memories from Mother Russia or from the torment of trying to integrate in Israel. As the left continues to crumble and be increasingly irrelevant, the parliamentary right is becoming ever more militant against the Arab public, “the professors,” the Supreme Court, creative artists, so-called intellectuals, donors from abroad and so on.
In the past Israel’s right wing was characterized by grace and decorum, as decreed by Revisionist leader Ze’ev Jabotinsky, and by grace and courage, as per the Betar anthem. These days, Benjamin Netanyahu is not ashamed to take the floor and declare that if not for his support of the problematic law, it would not have come to a vote. If so, why didn’t the government sponsor it? Why was it dragged in by Elkin? And why didn’t Netanyahu bother going to the Knesset Monday night to vote? The answer is that there is no government in Israel and no head of government. The tail is wagging the dog. Junior MKs dictate the national agenda to the government. One time it’s Elkin, another time it’s David Rotem from Yisrael Beiteinu, with the admission committees law, or maybe Fania Kirshenbaum, from the same party, with her suggestion to establish parliamentary committees of inquiry against left-wing organizations. Or it might be Alex Miller, also from Yisrael Beiteinu, with the “Nakba Law” or with his “Cinema Law,” which says that only those who declare loyalty to the state as a Jewish and democratic country will get government funding for making films.
Behind the scenes the settlers are at work: They are the real government in Israel. MKs from Likud and Yisrael Beiteinu compete with one another in persecuting the left, which for years has been dealt one electoral blow after another. New members of Likud are increasingly extreme. Likud activists know whom to appeal to in order to get votes in the next primaries: Both Netanyahu and Avigdor Lieberman are in competition for support of the right. Less than two days after Elkin pushed through the Boycott Law, Lieberman announced that next week, his Yisrael Beiteinu faction will submit Kirshenbaum’s proposal involving parliamentary committees of inquiry. A few hours after that announcement, Bibi declared that the Boycott Law was his baby. Betwixt and between, Lieberman vanquished the government on the question of raising the retirement age for women to 67, and said his faction would support the bill proposed by MK Dalia Itzik ‏(Kadima‏) to leave it at 62. Netanyahu balked and declared that Likud MKs could vote as they wished. Thus Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz was the only one to vote against Itzik’s bill, versus 67 supporters. Speaker of the Knesset Reuven Rivlin tried to block the Boycott Law. Just before the vote, he was under heavy pressure from cabinet secretary Zvi Hauser to remove the bill from the agenda to avoid embarrassment to the government while the Quartet was meeting in Washington. Rivlin said he would comply if the government were to announce, even as a formality, that it would examine possible revisions to the bill. Hauser could not promise any such announcement from the Prime Minister’s Bureau. Rivlin nevertheless asked Elkin to reconsider. Elkin declined, explaining:

If we postpone it for a week, the pressure will only grow.

Rivlin threw in the towel, replying:

Do you know the old song, ‘We don’t want to sleep, We want to go crazy’? Well, go crazy. I, for one, will not vote for this bill.

At midday Wednesday, at the height of the storm over the Boycott Law, MKs Levin and Elkin stated that they intend to submit a bill giving the Knesset veto power over appointments of Supreme Court justices, by means of hearings for candidates in the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee. Shortly after the two made their announcement in the press, the cell phones of the 2,500 or so members of the Likud central committee vibrated with the following text message:

Toward a revolution in the Supreme Court − the transparency law for appointment of justices, sponsored by MK Yariv Levin. The whole Likud is mobilizing!

Someone invested quite a lot of money in this project. But it was too much to swallow, even for Likudniks. The first to issue a tough rejection of the idea was Education Minister Gideon Sa’ar. He set the tone. Following him, the bureaus of Rivlin and of ministers Begin and Meridor released similar statements. A few hours later, Netanyahu took the podium in the Knesset to present his government’s achievements and to defend the Boycott Law. He said:

We respect the Supreme Court, we will protect the Supreme Court.

An hour later, the premier’s office issued a more detailed communique, stating that Netanyahu opposes “unequivocally a bill that will grant the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee the authority to disqualify candidates for judgeships and intervene in the appointment of judges.” Next week, the Knesset will go back to squabbling over the bill to investigate left-wing groups. More brilliant ideas await us in the week after that, and then the Knesset will disperse for a long summer recess, and quiet shall descend upon Israel, at least for 80 days.